Panda wrote:Italian Costa Cruises have surprisingly chosen Clarence Mitchell as their official spokesperson which, depending on his role, may pose a problem considering the many differing nationalities of passengers. Unless Mr Mitchell happens to be multi-lingual. "

What do you make of this then???? One of the comments suggests it is because the Company want a cover up.

Well, there has been talk of questionable practices by Costa Cruises, so Clarence is a good choice as he'll have previously used scripts handy: there are reasonable explanations for any allegedly dodgy dealings the investigators may or may not uncover; my client's practices are well within the bounds of normal cruising.

One of the comments on the blog suggested Mitchell has been taken on for a cover-up

Well that's good, it just goes to show how the public view Mitchell and his activities.

kitti wrote:He did manage to avoid a Huge tragedy but it was the captain Who got them into this tragedy in the first place

Police want to interview a Woman the Captain was with hours before the capsize.

One wag on sky commented 'maybe he won't be pleased to be under house arrest now his wife's heard about this'

Panda, that doesn't bear thinking about, in the underwater photos you can see the water is crystal clear. I have to say those divers deserve a medal for going in that ship knowing it's moved and could fall off that ledge.

kitti wrote:He did manage to avoid a Huge tragedy but it was the captain Who got them into this tragedy in the first place

I think that the relatives of the people that died would feel that it was a huge tragedy kitti! especially as their loved ones deaths were caused by a person that had no regard for the people on his ship, only thinking about what suited his own vanity.

A Moldovan woman has defended the captain of the capsized Costa Concordia as new claims emerged that he ordered dinner for himself and her after the ship crashed into a reef off Italy's coast.

Attention has focused on Domnica Cemortan after Italian media published photos of her, claiming she was dining with captain Francesco Schettino on the night of the tragedy, and that she may hold the key to how the disaster unfolded.

The 25-year-old had worked as a hostess for the Italian cruise operator, although her contract had expired and she was on a holiday with friends when she boarded the liner.

Domnica Cemortan is reportedly the mystery woman that the captain of the Costa Concordia was seen with before the crash

A cook from the ship, Rogelio Barista, told Filipino television station GMA Network that Mr Schettino was dining with a young woman and that he was shocked the captain still wanted his dessert amid the chaos.

"We wondered what was going on. At the time, we really felt something was wrong. The stuff in the kitchen was falling off the shelves," he said.

"I have had 12 years of experience as a cook on a cruise ship. I have even witnessed fires, so I wasn't that scared. But I did wonder, though, what the captain was doing ... why he was still there."

In an interview with Moldovan daily Adevarul, Ms Cemortan said she was eating with "colleagues, so to speak" at the time of impact.

Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino has been pilloried by the Italian media over the fatal sail

She denied the captain was among the first to leave the vessel.

"I've heard in Russian media that the captain left the ship first, or among the first, but this isn't true," she said.

"As a witness, I can say I left the deck at 11.50pm following an order from the captain, who told me to go to the third deck to get into a lifeboat that could take more people."

Ms Cemortan, who said she had been helping translate instructions for Russian passengers, praised Schettino's actions.

"He did a great thing. He saved over 3,000 lives," she said.

Divers hope to resume searching for bodies still on the vessel as soon as conditions are safe

Schettino, who has been accused of causing the accident by coming too close to the shore so he could "make a salute", has been put under house arrest after appearing before an Italian judge on Tuesday.

He also faces charges of abandoning ship before the evacuation was complete - an offence alone that has a penalty of up to 12 years jail.

Eleven people are known to have died after the ship ran aground off the Tuscan island of Giglio, with 21 still missing.

Divers have been frantically searching inside the vessel to find those who are missing, feared drowned, but have had to call off the search numerous times because bad weather has made conditions unsafe.

The Company offered E10,000 compensation to passengers, but Class Act American Lawyers have stepped in and secured E100,000 compensation butit will take years before they are paid because the investigation will take such a long time and Passenger details verified .

Panda wrote:The Company offered E10,000 compensation to passengers, but Class Act American Lawyers have stepped in and secured E100,000 compensation butit will take years before they are paid because the investigation will take such a long time and Passenger details verified .

If only insurance companies paid out with same speed as which they demand their premiums....

Panda wrote:The Company offered E10,000 compensation to passengers, but Class Act American Lawyers have stepped in and secured E100,000 compensation butit will take years before they are paid because the investigation will take such a long time and Passenger details verified .

If only insurance companies paid out with same speed as which they demand their premiums....

Hi malena,

There was a discussion this morning on BBC about Insurance Companies charging extra if the Driver is unemployed. An Architect who is unemployed was charged an extra £100 on his Cae insurance yet had previously never made a claim,!!!

Panda wrote:The Company offered E10,000 compensation to passengers, but Class Act American Lawyers have stepped in and secured E100,000 compensation butit will take years before they are paid because the investigation will take such a long time and Passenger details verified .

If only insurance companies paid out with same speed as which they demand their premiums....

Hi malena,

There was a discussion this morning on BBC about Insurance Companies charging extra if the Driver is unemployed. An Architect who is unemployed was charged an extra £100 on his Cae insurance yet had previously never made a claim,!!!

Why on earth would unemployment affect the insurance risk? Will they start humping pensioners next?

Panda wrote:The Company offered E10,000 compensation to passengers, but Class Act American Lawyers have stepped in and secured E100,000 compensation butit will take years before they are paid because the investigation will take such a long time and Passenger details verified .

If only insurance companies paid out with same speed as which they demand their premiums....

Hi malena,

There was a discussion this morning on BBC about Insurance Companies charging extra if the Driver is unemployed. An Architect who is unemployed was charged an extra £100 on his Cae insurance yet had previously never made a claim,!!!

I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE PERSON WAS LESS AN INSURANCE RISK.I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE CARBON/MORTGAGE ETC`SUB-PRIME' ASSETS THE INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE INVESTING IN ARE MORE OF A RISK TO THEIR BOTTOM LINE THAN SOME OF THE PEOPLE THEY ARE INSURING

Last edited by Badboy on Sat 21 Jan - 15:41; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : MORE COMMENT)

Panda wrote:The Company offered E10,000 compensation to passengers, but Class Act American Lawyers have stepped in and secured E100,000 compensation butit will take years before they are paid because the investigation will take such a long time and Passenger details verified .

If only insurance companies paid out with same speed as which they demand their premiums....

Hi malena,

There was a discussion this morning on BBC about Insurance Companies charging extra if the Driver is unemployed. An Architect who is unemployed was charged an extra £100 on his Cae insurance yet had previously never made a claim,!!!

I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE PERSON WAS LESS AN INSURANCE RISK.I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE CARBON/MORTGAGE ETC`SUB-PRIME' ASSETS THE INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE INVESTING IN ARE MORE OF A RISK TO THEIR BOTTOM LINE THAN SOME OF THE PEOPLE THEY ARE INSURING

Hi Badboy,

There was a discussion the oyher day on the increase in claims for Car Injuries, Whiplash being the most popular. Insurance Companies claim theDoctors accept the Patients claim without a proper check, they are probably right.

Outrage has spread amongst survivors of the Costa Concordia disaster as the ship’s owners offered them 30% off their next cruise.

Carnival Corporation, which runs Costa Cruises, made the offer to passengers of the Costa Concordia who endured a horrific ordeal when the ship ran aground on 13 January.

The number of confirmed deaths in the wreck rose to 13 on Sunday, with 20 more missing. Divers are continuing to search the shipwreck in order to search for others who may have died in the tragedy.

[Gallery: Costa Concordia tragedy in photos]

Passengers have been offered a full refund on the original voyage, as well as this recent discount off their next trip with the cruise company. The offer has been met with derision by Concordia survivors with one passenger telling ‘The Telegraph’ that it was “insulting”.

“The company is trying to do everything they can for those passengers directly affected,” a Costa Cruises spokesperson said.

“The company is not only going to refund everybody but they will offer a 30% discount on future cruises if they want to stay loyal to the company.”

Some 4,200 passengers were forced to flee the Costa Concordia as it ran aground off the coast of Isola del Giglio on 13 January. The ship’s captain Francesco Schettino has claimed that his “sail-by” the island was arranged by Costa Concordia “for publicity reasons”.

Passengers aboard the Costa Concordia have been offered €11,000 (£9,184) compensation for lost baggage and psychological trauma after the ship deviated from its route, hit a rock and capsized.

Costa, owned by the world's biggest cruise operator Carnival, will also reimburse passengers the full costs of their cruise, travel expenses and any medical expenses sustained after the grounding.

The offer was announced after a day of negotiations between Costa representatives and Italian consumer groups representing 3,206 people from 61 countries who were not hurt physically when the ship hit a reef on January 13.

Passengers and crew can pursue legal action if they are not satisfied with the deal.

The Concordia ran aground and capsized off the island of Giglio, off Tuscany, after captain Francesco Schettino veered from his approved course and gashed the ship's hull on a reef, forcing the panicked evacuation of 4,200 passengers and crew.

That's a bloody Insult, that is....nine grand.....that covers the cost off the cruise plus spending money plus baggage and....psychological....how much psychological damage do they think these people suffered, how can you put a price on that, you can't ....it could or rather will be with them for the rest off their lives and may need help which will cost THEM a lot off money for however how long it take them to come to terms with it.

Even on judge judy you would get a few thousand for pain and suffering..

Cheek off them....

And how much for the dead people's family.....what price a death.....nine grand.......stick it that's what I would say........bloody cheek.

I wouldn't put it past them to offer the dead persons family less by a few thousand stating they don't need new clothes ....my blood is boiling now,

It's just typical of big business trying to buy their way out of a fix. Some passengers may even accept the offer.... Those who hold out for more could probably die before the Insurers solicitors run out of appeals and denials of company's vicarious involvement with the captain's incompetence and stupidity.

malena stool wrote:It's just typical of big business trying to buy their way out of a fix. Some passengers may even accept the offer.... Those who hold out for more could probably die before the Insurers solicitors run out of appeals and denials of company's vicarious involvement with the captain's incompetence and stupidity.

malena, I read that american Lawyers had aecured $100,000 for American passengers but it might have been for a death , However, for what the survivorss had to go through, £9,000 does seem paltry.